Into Darkness
by Link-of-the-Twilight
Summary: Ghirahim and Fi once used to be normal demon and human children, until Fate decides to make their life miserable as hell. It is then that Majora turns up to drastically change things... - Skyward Sword prequel
1. Chapter 1

**This is a fanfiction that takes place long before Skyward Sword. It mainly explains how Ghirahim and Fi ended up as the Sword Spirits of Demise and Hylia. It contains GhiraFi at some moment, and some violence when Majora joins in, but not explicit...  
Apart from that, enjoy! ^^  
**

Ghirahim was a young demon boy from about 10 years old who lived together with his parents at the edge of a smaller demon society. Unlike most demons in town, both his parents still lived together and looked after him.

This was quite an unusual event, as most demon men left their 'family' after kids were born. It was kind of a tradition to leave the demon women alone with their children and start a new family elsewhere. In Ghirahim's family however, the father didn't leave and instead, stayed with his wife and son. This would lead to trouble for Ghirahim during his childhood, as the other demon children considered him spoiled because he was an only child and had both his mother _and_ father to give attention to him.

It was one of those days that Ghirahim had to go to one of the social events in centre of town. He didn't want to go, because he didn't want the other kids to bully him again, but his mother insisted on it. She told him he _had _to be more social and if he refused to play with the other children, he would _never_ make any friends.

Against his own will, little Ghirahim was brought to the market place. His mother waved him goodbye as she dropped him in a crowd of other little demon children. They all knew who Ghirahim was, _of course_ they knew. He was that one exception in town, that_one_ exception in the whole demon society. He was that spoiled and arrogant little kid that always got everything he wanted. They all despised him and none of them would ever want to be friends with him.

Immediately as his mother had gone out of sight, they ran away from Ghirahim, acting as if he had some kind of contagious disease and they would be infected when they got too close to him.

Ghirahim let a sad sigh escape his mouth as he watched the others happily play with each other. He knew he would never be part of them. He knew they would always look down on him. He knew he would be alone for the rest of his life.

And as much as he loved both his parents, he couldn't help but be angry at them. If his dad just had left his mother, he wouldn't be bullied. He would have friends. He would be considered _normal._

Slowly and reluctantly, he walked up to a small group of demon boys. They were the same age as him and followed the same course: preparation to serve in the army later.

As he approached them, he could already see their vile looks thrown on him.

With a little hesitation, he entered the circle. "Can I... play?" he asked with his most innocent voice.

One of them started laughing and the others soon followed in.

"Spoiled little Ghirahim wants to play with us?" one asked when he had stopped laughing, "Doesn't he have enough attention yet?"

"But I-"

"Little Ghirahim always has to be special, doesn't he?"

"But we won't play with the spoilt brat!" another of them yelled.

He felt tears stinging in the corners of his eyes. He didn't want to be ignored any longer, he just wanted to be part of the other demons.

The group fell silent and a single whisper went round. Ghirahim couldn't hear what they were saying, but he feared they were discussing and contemplating some kind of plan against him.

One of them stepped forward to stand right in front of him. It was Thorin, kind of the leader of this gang. He used to bully Ghirahim the most. Whatever he was going to say, it wouldn't be good.

"We've decided that you can play with us," Thorin said.

Ghirahim's eyes widened. That wasn't bad at all! "Really?" he asked surprised and more than a little happy.

"But," the demon facing him continued, "There is one condition."

"What is that?" Ghirahim asked, now becoming more suspicious.

"You have to prove you can be part of us. You have to prove you're not spoiled and thus, you have to do something only low-class demons do."

"What is that?"

"You have to steal."

"Steal?" Ghirahim repeated.

He didn't want to do such a thing. He would never want to hurt other demons in any way, and he considered stealing as something that hurt people.

"What do you think, Ghirahim?" Thorin asked, "Do you want to be part of us?"

Ghirahim remained silent for a few moments and considered the offer. He didn't want to steal, but if this was the only way of becoming friends with them, of _ever_ having _any_friends, he couldn't do much but accept it.

"I will do," he said.

Thorin smiled widely, but it was more of a malicious smile than a friendly. "Right," he said, "Then here's how the deal works. You go and steal some money from lord Fursor. If you succeed, you will be part of us and we will never bully you again. If you fail, you won't and we'll take you to some place to punish you for thinking yourself equal to us. Do you agree?"

"But... Stealing from lord Fursor is like impossible!"

"It has to be difficult, you know. It won't be much of a test if it's too simple. You have to prove you're not spoiled, to prove you can function on your own, without your mum or dad being around."

Ghirahim swallowed and closed his eyes. He knew it was most unlikely he'd succeed. But what choice did he have? He had to at least give it a try, now that they gave him the chance. It couldn't be much worse, he knew that. If he failed they would probably humiliate him again someway, and afterwards, the situation would be exactly the same as it was now and as it had always been.

"I will try," he said.

"Perfect! Come on, follow us. We'll bring you there, to see and watch on you so you don't flee."

Thorin left and the others followed him, including Ghirahim. It felt weird to Ghirahim to be around other demon kids and not walk alone through the streets.

...

They crossed a lot of streets, and when they had left the centre of town and came in the district of the high-class demons, they soon arrived at their destination, the house of lord Fursor.

"From here on, you have to go on your own," Thorin said.

Ghirahim nodded and tried to look calm as he left to walk up beside the house, looking for an open window or anything that could form a possible entrance.

He was lucky, and spotted a back door that had been left open. With quick paces, he walked over there. One last time he looked around to make sure no one could see him, and then he swiftly slipped through the small opening.

The room he had entered was quite a large one, larger than most of the rooms in his own house, but he assumed that was only normal considering this was the property of a high-class demon. It seemed to be functioning as some kind of porch for the demons to sit in on sunny days.

He quickly passed this room as he didn't expect the money to be kept here. Right behind the porch, there was a hallway, including stairs at his left side, leading to the second floor. He peeked round the corner to make sure the stairs were empty. When he noticed the coast was clear, he walked up the stairway.

He assumed he would find what he sought for in the bedroom. He remembered his parents doing the same, hiding their money in a small chest under the bed. Hopefully, lord Fursor used this as the hiding place for his money too.

When Ghirahim had reached the second floor, he started looking for the bedroom, which wasn't _that_ difficult to find, as a sign on the door indicated its location. The door was closed. That wasn't good. Now Ghirahim had to take a huge risk by opening it without first seeing if the coast was clear.

He placed his hand on the door handle and pushed it down slightly. He didn't dare to open it immediately, but waiting also was dangerous, as someone could sneak upon him any moment.

With one quick push, he opened the door fully. It was empty. Completely empty. Ghirahim happily walked in and looked underneath the bed. Of course it was there, the box in which the money was hidden. The young demon crawled under the bed. He had to go far before he reached it, as the bed was a huge four-poster one.

When he had finally reached it, he grabbed it to pull it from underneath the bed. It was a beautiful box, already revealing the wealth of the owner and probably also of its content. Ghirahim placed the box on the edge of the bed and slowly opened it. He had expected it to be locked, but even that wasn't the case.

Inside there were more than hundred golden rupees, which were each of a value of 500 rupees. Ghirahim gasped as he saw this huge amount of money. His parents weren't particularly poor, but he was sure they had never owned an amount like this. They were only middle-class demons.

He closed the box again, picked it up, ready to leave, and turned around, only to see someone standing in the doorway.

Startled by this sudden appearance, Ghirahim dropped the box. "What do you think you're doing?" the demon in the doorway asked. Ghirahim blinked, but couldn't speak. This must be lord Fursor. And he would certainly punish Ghirahim, as he would think of him to be a low-class demon, who didn't have any rights.

Often enough, the young demon had seen how demon children of the lower class were attacked and even abused for no reason. He started trembling, his eyes pleading for mercy as he looked up to the elder demon.

"It certainly wasn't a good idea to sneak in here and try to steal my money," the lord spoke, "And so, you will be punished. I take great pleasure in showing you low-class filth where you truly belong, you know..."

Ghirahim felt tears stinging in his eyes, "I... I don't want to steal..." he whispered.

But lord Fursor didn't listen to him and left the room. The demon child didn't know what to think, but soon enough, when the elder demon returned, he knew what was going to happen. Lord Fursor was holding a sharp knife in his right hand.

Ghirahim staggered back, but trying to escape was no use. He fell backwards on the bed and before he even realized it, the other demon had him grabbed tightly by the throat. He was pushed against the bed and felt the sharp tip of the knife touch his cheek.

"Do you know how we mark little thieves?" the lord asked as the knife's sharp edge slid over Ghirahim's skin.

When the young demon didn't reply, the knife was moved upwards, to rest just underneath his eye.

There, it was pushed deeper, to break through the skin. Ghirahim squirmed and screamed as the knife slid over his skin, leaving a trace of red where it had passed. The same happened underneath his other eye.

When lord Fursor removed the knife, tears mixed with the blood and both filled Ghirahim's eyes. The elder demon stepped back a bit and let his victim recover. Ghirahim slowly sat upright and his fingers traced the lines underneath his eyes where his skin had been removed.

Eyes still pleading for mercy looked up at lord Fursor. But that one shook his head.

"I'm not done yet." His sentence was only nearly finished as his fist shot forward, making hard contact with Ghirahim's nose. The little demon fell backwards once more, only to be drawn upright again. Another fist hit his face, and yet another. Ghirahim screamed in pain as his body was being more and more damaged.

After what would have been like ten punches, lord Fursor picked Ghirahim up from the bed and dragged him down the stairs, through the hallway, towards the front door. He opened it and brutally dumped Ghirahim's bruised body on the stairs that led to the door. He slammed the door shut and let the unconscious demon boy lie there.

...

When Ghirahim opened his eyes, it wasn't all over yet, he realized when he saw the shoes and legs of his fellow demon students.

He slowly lifted his head and his eyes crossed those of Thorin, who looked down on him in despise.

"Seems like you weren't able to fulfil your task. It was a simple one though, but this proves how much you really are on your own, without your mummy and daddy behind you to hold your hand."

His mum and dad... How would he ever explain what had happened? How could he possibly face them after what had happened? With those awful marks under his eyes, what would they think? Would they hate him?

He couldn't hold back tears and they slowly slid down his cheeks. This only caused the others to laugh at him.

"There still is punishment for you, little Ghirahim," Thorin said when he was done laughing. "Please..." Ghirahim whispered, "Haven't I been punished enough yet?"

"No. You failed your test, and as we agreed, we would take you somewhere to punish you, remember? Well, to make it easy, we've already brought you there."

Ghirahim crawled to his feet as he tried to get to know where they were. He didn't immediately recognize the surroundings, and thus had no clue of what could possibly happen.

Two of the demons surrounding Thorin brutally grabbed Ghirahim's arms and dragged him away from the group.

"Nice swimming!" Thorin yelled after him, "It's best you try not to drown!"

Ghirahim struggled to break free, but it was no use as he was still weak due to his injuries and both the demons holding him were older and stronger. They dragged him up on what looked like a hill of stone. It took a few minutes for Ghirahim to realize where they were going. But when he remembered seeing this place before, he only began to struggle harder.

They soon reached the top of the 'hill', where the demons halted. It was a flat plateau with in the middle a huge crater, which served as a basin to dump food leftovers, as well as the content of toilets.

Ghirahim desperately tried to get away from them. He didn't want to be thrown in there. He didn't want that!

"Seems like you're going to take a swim in this nice little pool," one of them said, "You'd better try to keep your head above the water."

"Please!" Ghirahim pleaded, "Please don't do this! Please!"

"Begging won't work, little Ghirahim. We have no mercy for a little brat like you. You deserve to drown in this filth! It's where you belong!"

With those words, they pushed Ghirahim forwards and send him falling to the pool. Ghirahim screamed as he made contact with the mass of filth, and soon he went head under.

Desperately he tried to keep his head above the mess, but it was difficult, as he was not used to swimming. In fact, he had _never_ done it before. His arms smashed on the filthy substance as he tried to move himself to the edge. He was lucky they had practically dropped him, and not thrown him, so now it wasn't _too_ far.

It didn't take that long before he reached the edge. He hands grabbed the protruding stones in the wall and he pulled himself out of the filthy substance. With difficulty, he climbed up against the stone wall. It wasn't that high, so eventually he reached the top. Still covered in the brownish substance, he looked around. And then he noticed someone watching him. He staggered back as he recognized this man to be the supervisor of the basin.

"And what do you think you were doing, little demon?" the supervisor asked Ghirahim. The young demon couldn't reply as he was petrified of fear.

The other demon shook his head and picked up a bucket that stood beside him. He threw the content in Ghirahim's face, washing away most of the filth. Ghirahim wanted to thank the elder demon, but when he noticed the way he was being watched, he doubted it would be the right thing to do.

"You are a _thief_!" the supervisor exclaimed, "Well, _then_ I have no mercy!" He picked up the bucket again, to use it as a weapon and smash it in Ghirahim's face.

The little demon cried and fell backwards. Blood flowed from the open wound in his forehead. The supervisor hauled Ghirahim to his feet again, and pushed him down the stairs that led up to the platform they were standing on.

Ghirahim rolled down the stairs, until he came to a halt at the bottom, where he lay half dead. "Don't you _ever_ dare to come here again, you low-class piece of filth!" the supervisor screamed as he left.

Ghirahim tried to climb to his feet. His body ached everywhere. He felt so much pain now. Not even all the pain he had felt before _together_ could be compared to what he was feeling now. And it was not just physical pain, also mental. And that second maybe even was the worst of both.

He slowly limped away from the basin, to leave town, and to maybe never return.


	2. Chapter 2

Fi was a twelve year old human child. She lived in the centre of a city, much to her own dislike. She had always dreamt to live somewhere in the woods, as she loved nature.

She lived together with her grandmother. Her mother had died when she gave birth to her and her father died in battle when she was only six. As a result, Fi had learned to deal with pain and sorrow.

Due to her extreme intelligence, Fi had skipped five grades in school and now was doing her last year in which she would finish her studies.

She was always friendly and wanted to help those who had difficulties, though she had no real friends. Her best friend had moved away to another town only two years ago, and people of her class didn't care about her, as they didn't want to talk to a twelve year old child. They sure had better things to do than to be occupied with a little kid.

But Fi didn't care about it that much and she still felt happy, even though she only had her grandmother to talk to.

She often ran away from the city to wander around in the woods. She used to go and play there back in the time when her father was still alive. It brought back memories of a happy past.

But today, she couldn't go, as she had to go to school to get her proof of having finished her studies. There was no doubt she would have passed, and to Fi it didn't mean much, as she always had good grades, but her grandmother absolutely wanted to celebrate it. They were going to go to the best restaurant in the city. Fi looked forward to it. It would be the first time they would go out having dinner.

Fi happily crossed the market place to arrive at the gates of her school. She already saw her mentor waiting to hand out the documents of proof. When he noticed her, he came walking up to her and handed her a document.

"As expected, Fi, you have passed with great distinction," he said with a smile. Fi smiled back as she held the proof in her hands. Her grandmother would be so proud!

"Thank you," she said to her mentor as she turned around to return to her house.

She crossed the many crowded streets in the centre, and finally, she arrived in the street where their house was located. They weren't very rich, and thus lived in a small and old house that was in dire need of rebuilding.

Fi walked over to her house, but soon she noticed there was something going on. In front of her house, there was a circle of people, blocking the entrance. Fi walked over there and tried to break through the crowd.

"Please, let me pass, I live here," she said and people began to move out of her way.

When she had finally reached the door and wanted to open it, it was already opened from the inside. Two men came walking out, holding some kind of brancard. On the brancard lay someone, covered underneath a white cloth.

Fi stared at it. She knew what was happening, though she hadn't seen it coming. It was her grandmother... She was dead...

The crowd surrounding her started slinking away. Fi stared with a blank expression as the two men carried her grandmother away, not even telling her what had happened. She felt tears. Inside. She didn't cry outwardly, but she felt the huge aching in her heart. This was the third time already she lost someone close. And not only that, her grandmother had been the last person to care about her.

She slowly left and walked away from the house. It felt so familiar, this pain, almost as if she was meant to feel only pain. The document of proof slowly slid away from between her fingers to fall on the street. Fi didn't notice, neither did she care.

Her head down to the ground, she left the city, heading towards the woods. She was used to this feeling. She didn't show it anymore. She knew crying didn't help and sometimes even made the pain worse.

However, she could not help but let one single tear roll down her face as she saw the forest coming closer. She had been here with her grandmother too. Not very long ago. They had been searching mushrooms.

Another tear left Fi's eyes as she remembered how her grandmother had taught her about the different types of mushrooms, about which ones were edible and which weren't. She remembered having picked a wrong one that had almost ended up in the soup. Her grandmother hadn't been angry, no, she never was, she had just laughed. Fi had also laughed and the mushroom ended up in a vase, replacing withered flowers. It was a funny sight, a mushroom in a vase.

Fi entered the woods. Soon she spotted one single mushroom. She recognized it as one that was not edible. She felt sorry for the lonely plant and she felt she could relate to it. It was alone, not one of its own kind caring to accompany it.

She knelt down and picked the mushroom. She would take it home and give it a place in the vase. That way, they both weren't alone any longer.

Fi caressed the little green mushroom and closed it in her two hands. She missed her grandmother. She missed her being by her side, making her smile when she was sad. She knew this would happen sooner or later, but she had hoped it to be later. She had hoped to at least be able to say farewell.

She rose again and walked deeper into the woods. Other times, there always had been someone to comfort her when she had lost someone precious. Mostly it had been her grandmother, but also her best friend, her father... But Fi realized there wouldn't be anyone this time. She was alone.

She held back more tears and tried to be strong. She remembered her grandmother telling her to remain strong, even in hard times. "I will be strong," she whispered, "I promise." These words she had spoken many times in the past when she felt sad. And now she said them again, for no one to listen but the mushroom, her new little friend.

...

Fi silently walked through the woods. She just wanted to stay here. Forever.

Suddenly, she heard something. It sounded like cries, cries of sorrow and pain. She followed he sound and soon spotted a little boy, sitting on a fallen tree. He himself looked to have fallen too, mentally.

Fi slowly neared him, hiding behind trees so he didn't spot her. It was a demon boy, no doubt. He had his head buried in his hands, soft cries alternating louder ones. Physically he was badly injured, but mentally he was completely torn apart.

Fi felt pity for the little boy, and even though he was demon, she revealed herself from her hiding place and walked upon him.

It could be dangerous, she knew, but still, her empathy was too big to watch him suffer. She remembered hearing stories telling of demons who relentlessly murdered people, showing no mercy. But Fi wasn't stupid, and she knew humans would do the same thing to demons. It weren't the demons who were evil, it was the constant fight going on between both races that was.

The little demon didn't look up as Fi sat down next to him. He probably didn't even notice she was even there, as his crying blocked out every other sound and his eyes were hidden behind his hands.

Carefully, Fi placed one hand on his shoulder. He didn't move, but his cries suddenly stopped, and with an expression full of fear and sorrow, he looked at Fi. She smiled slightly at him. He just stared at her, eyes empty.

Fi's smile soon disappeared, and she could feel her own sorrow reflected in his eyes. Hers must've been just as empty. Somehow it felt comforting, seeing someone suffer more than she did, but still, she wanted to take away his pain, even if it made her own only grow bigger.

She looked at his damaged face. He had bruises all over his face, scars and scratches, but what terrified her the most, were the two lines underneath his eyes where his skin seemingly had been peeled off. She stared at him in horror. Who would such a thing? Who could be so mean to hurt an innocent child like this?

Fi let her hand slide away from his shoulder to caress his back. The empty look in the boy's eyes didn't fade. Then Fi remembered she was still holding the green mushroom. She stretched out her arm and held the little plant in front of him. "For you," she whispered. The sudden spark in his eyes proved that it meant a lot to him to receive a little gift and that it helped to take away his pain.

He slowly accepted the mushroom and looked at it, tears no longer leaving his reddened eyes. "Thank... you..." he whispered.

Fi smiled slightly, but she already felt her own sorrow returning. One single tear rolled down her face. The boy looked at her, not knowing what to do. Carefully, he took her hand and squeezed in it. Fi recognized this as something her father used to do when she was sad, and it had always helped to comfort her.

She looked the demon boy in the eye and hugged him, immediately after, she burst out into tears. She held him tightly as she needed someone to be with her, to care about her. She never wanted to let go of him again, even though she didn't know who he was, even though he was a demon, the worst enemy of her race. But she remembered the mushroom, abandoned by his own species, but surrounded by others. If humans abandoned her, she would rather be surrounded by demons than be alone.

...

The hug lasted for what seemed like hours when Fi finally let go of him. She felt calmed, sorrow sent away, but also very attached to this particular demon.

"Stay with me..." she whispered softly. The boy gave her a surprised look. His worst pain seemed to have faded as well.

"I don't want to be alone," Fi said, trying to convince him.

"Are you alone?" he asked. Fi nodded. "Is that what makes you sad?"

She nodded again.

"I am alone too..." he said.

The girl looked at him, she hadn't expected him to say that. "What happened?" she asked.

He hesitated for a moment. "I... I didn't have any friends. I just wanted to be part of the other demons... I wanted to be normal, just like them. They said I had to pass a test and then they would accept me as one of them. I had to steal money from one of the high-class demons. I didn't want to do that, but I just wanted to be one of them..."

Fi could see the tears filling his eyes again.

"But I got caught. I was punished, marked as a thief, as a low-class demon without rights. The gang punished me too, threw me in the basin where the content of toilets was dumped... And when the supervisor of the basin noticed the marks under my eyes, he hit me too, throwing me down the stairs... Then I fled. I... I can't return to my parents like this... They'll hate me..."

He started crying again.  
"But you don't have to return," Fi said, "Stay with me! Please, I have nowhere to go to..."

He nodded, rubbing away his tears, "What happened to you?" he asked.

"My grandmother passed away..." Fi whispered, her voice full of pain, "And my parents had already died before. I have nowhere to go. I have no friends, no one..."

"You have me..."

Fi looked up, a smile forming on her lips. The demon smiled as well.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Fi," she said, "And yours?"

"Ghirahim."

Fi smiled, "Do you want to come with me?"

"Where?"

"My house." But as soon as she had spoken those words, she knew that was impossible. If she took Ghirahim to the city, the guards would most likely kill him. He was a demon after all.

"No," she said, "We have to stay here, in the woods. The people of my city would kill you if they saw you. They hate demons..."

"I hate demons too," Ghirahim said, "I _despise_ them. I _despise_ demon society. They hate me just because my mum and dad are still together while that is against tradition. I never did anything wrong, and still... I've always been bullied, no matter how hard I try to be like them, to be friendly, they keep pestering me, keep hating me, just because I'm different. But now, I've given up. I now realize they will always hate me, that there is no place for me in demon society. I won't return. Never."

Fi stared at him. She couldn't believe a boy as young as him could feel so much hate already. But she understood. She didn't think of it being weird, of _him_ being weird. Anyone treated like that would think the same.

"I don't want to return either," she said, "I don't want to live in a world full of war, of hating. I don't want to be friends with humans who tell me demons are evil. I want to be with _you._ With you and you only. If humans don't want me, it is only normal I want to be with a demon. To me race doesn't matter. You understand me, that's what matters the most to me."

Ghirahim smiled, "I've always wished to have a friend. A friend like you. I didn't even like the demon boys I wanted to become part of, I just didn't want to be looked down on anymore, I just wanted to not always have to stand alone, to not always be laughed at, be bullied... But I now realize life with you is better, _far_ better. You're the kind of friend I've always dreamt of."

Fi's smile only grew bigger. For the first time since long, she felt like she actually liked someone. She felt like she had found someone she wanted to stay with for the rest of her life. Someone who cared about her and someone she cared for. Someone who wouldn't pass away long before her. Someone who would stay with her until the end.

She arose, "We will have to build ourselves a house," she said, as she reached out to Ghirahim.

He took her hand, "Okay. But can we first go a bit further away from the demon town? I don't want them to find me when they start searching..."

"You don't want to be found? And your parents?"

Ghirahim let his head hang down. His parents sure would miss him. They would be worried sick. But he just couldn't stay any longer in town. He wanted to stay with Fi. She was nice. She cared about him. And he couldn't take her home.

"I can't go without leaving you," he said, "And I'd rather stay with you than return."

Fi smiled, "That makes me happy, Ghirahim. And we will walk away further. I don't mind if we're going to live closer to the city of humans. There will be no one to look for me. We're safe there."

...

After quite a long time of walking, the two had found a little open place in the woods. They had agreed this would serve as the perfect place to build their house. Together they set off to gather wood for the construction.

Night fell. They hadn't gathered enough wood yet to build a house of, and thus they decided to use some of the branches for making a campfire.

"But how are we going to make fire?" Ghirahim asked.

Fi thought about it for a moment.

"I used to carry flints in my pocket. Maybe I still have them," she said. She searched in the pockets of her skirt, and soon found the stones she was looking for. "Here they are," she said, handing the stones over to Ghirahim, "All you have to do is smash them against each other."

Ghirahim accepted the stones and did as Fi told him. In the meantime, Fi threw some branches together on a pile, and after some time, the pile caught fire. The two children backed away as they watched the fire flare up.

When it had calmed and remained the same seize, the two sat down in front of it.

"It's beautiful," Ghirahim whispered as he watched the fire.

Fi lay down on her side, still watching the fire. She wanted to sleep. One last time she looked up to Ghirahim and took his hand in her own.

The demon also lay down, his head close to hers and still holding her hand. He kept watching the fire, until his eyelids slid shut and he fell asleep.

For Fi it took a little longer before sleep came to take her, as her mind was haunted by memories of the past. Memories of her grandmother, and even of her father. But she didn't have to grieve, as she wasn't alone. She had Ghirahim now. And as long as his hand enclosed hers, she knew she was safe, safe for loneliness. She closed her eyes, to fall asleep shortly after.


	3. Chapter 3

Four years had passed since Fi and Ghirahim had met each other. Fi now was 16, Ghirahim 14. The two lived together in a small hut, build on the open place in the woods. It was a very basic house, as they had to cook outside above a campfire and the house existed practically only of their two beds and a little table.

Ghirahim mostly was responsible for the food. He went out hunting and sometimes he even snuck into town to steal bread.

Fi on the other hand did most of the thinking, which Ghirahim carried out. She thought of plans to enter the city, of how to expand their little house and anything else where they needed brain. Sometimes she went back to town to take blankets and clothes from her grandmother's house. She didn't want to show herself in public, so she didn't buy any new things, not that she'd be able to if she wanted, she didn't have any money, but instead, she sent Ghirahim out to steal at night.

They formed a perfect team, as what Fi lacked, Ghirahim possessed and the other way around.

It was early in the morning when the two sat just outside the door of their house, eating the leftovers of their food of last night. Ghirahim watched the smouldering fire while he slowly consumed his food.

Fi looked at the still sleepy demon boy. She couldn't imagine life without him anymore. It was as if her dream had come true, living in the woods, having a best friend, and... maybe even more than a friend. She stared at him. To her, their friendship was beyond _just_ friendship. She had learned to love him, beyond a friend way.

He raised his head, looking her in the eye. Fi felt a light blush appearing on her cheeks, as he might have noticed how she had been watching him. Ghirahim smiled, but it was more of a smirk, which meant he _had_ noticed. Fi's blush only became worse.

"Do I have to question where you've been looking at _exactly_?" Ghirahim asked. Fi's blush only grew, her head must've been totally red by now. Though she didn't do anything, she had just looked at his face, his beautiful face.

He still was young, but he didn't look like a child. If she didn't know him, she would've thought of him being someone of her own age. He had grown a lot since they met. He had become muscular, strong, handsome... He didn't act like a child either, neither did Fi, but she considered that only normal, since they had been through so much, since they had learned to live on their own.

Fi stared at the ground. She didn't like when he played with her feelings.

"Hey, Fi," Ghirahim said, moving closer to her and laying an arm around her. "What's wrong?" He whispered in her ear, his head touching hers.

Fi gasped. They had never been this close before. She could feel his lips move against her skin as he spoke.

"I..." she stuttered, "I... uh..."

He moved his head in front of hers, still closer than she was used to.

"Do you love me?" he asked, as he saw she wouldn't tell him on her own. Fi only nodded. "I love you too," Ghirahim said, moving forward for his lips to make contact with hers. Fi immediately started kissing him. She had been waiting for this moment for too long. It was like a dream that came true to her.

After some time, the two split again. "I love you," Ghirahim whispered, "Very much..." Fi could only smile. This had to be the best moment ever. She hugged him, nearly knocking him down onto the ashes of the fire.

Ghirahim could avert just in time and the two landed on the earth, side by side, still in a hugging position.

"I fear I have to go hunting by now..." Ghirahim said.

Fi's smile faded slightly, "I can go with you," she tried.

Ghirahim thought about it for a moment, "We've tried that before, remember? I couldn't catch anything that day. You distracted me, distracted my prey... It's better you stay here..."

Fi sighed disappointed, "You're right... I had to go to town after all to get us some new bottles. We have only two left now. But I will bring you something nice, something special."

Ghirahim arose and helped Fi to rise as well, "Then we'd better go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we're back together."

He entered the house to gather his weapons, a long sword and a bow, both stolen from the city of humans.

"Bye, my love," he said as he parted. Fi waved him goodbye. Even though he wouldn't be away for long, it hurt. She wanted to just be with him all day... But he had been right, things had to be done and the faster they were done, the sooner they could be together.

Fi took the cape she always used to go to town, one which hid half of her face, to prevent of being recognized, and she set off to the city.

...

When Ghirahim was on his way back home, carrying three fish he had wrapped in his shirt he had taken off before because it was too warm, he could already feel something was wrong. He didn't know why, he just felt it.

It was too silent. Not even birds were making noise. But maybe it wasn't bad. Maybe that was because of Fi's surprise she had taken from town.

"Fi!" he called as the house came back in sight, "Love, I'm home!"

There came no answer. He felt his stomach turning. There _was_ something wrong, he knew. And it was no use telling himself it was only normal. He was _perfectly_ aware it was bad.

He walked up to the house, once more calling out for Fi. Again no answer. What was it that had happened?

Ghirahim knew it was more than just the fact that Fi hadn't returned from town yet. He entered the house. Empty. He started to feel worried. Something had happened, something bad.

He left the house again. And then he saw Fi. Right in front of him. But she wasn't alone. Two masked persons were holding her.

He stared at them. Fi was crying softly, her eyes red of crying. What had they done to her?

She didn't look him in the eye. Her expression was blank. It reminded Ghirahim of the first time he saw her, when she was broken of sorrow.

"Let her go," he said. But none of the two masked men moved even one least bit. "Let her go!" Ghirahim repeated, his voice now raised. Still no reaction.

He still had his sword resting in his hand. That might come of use now. He stepped forward, clenching his sword. When he approached the two men, he heard something cracking behind him. Quickly, he turned around, only to see three more masked men walking upon him, holding swords in their hands.

"Get rid of this filth," the middle one said, pointing at Ghirahim. The other two lunged forward. Ghirahim ducked to dodge the attack, swords flashing above his head. He jumped upright again, and started to attack the two. He had learned how to fight, as his dream had always been to become soldier in the demon army.

It didn't take him that long before he landed a first blow on one of his opponents. The man screamed and dropped his weapon, clutching the deep scar in his shoulder. But Ghirahim didn't show him any mercy. This man was responsible for Fi's hurt. He stabbed the wounded man again, who fell to the ground.

The other one stared at him, shocked by this unexpected fighting skills. Ghirahim turned to his other opponent, charging forward. The man was too slow to block the attack and he, as well, had to put down his cap.

Ghirahim turned to the last man standing, the one who had ordered the others to kill him. He growled as he approached his enemy.

The man stared at him, also shocked by the sudden fall of his friends. "R-Run!" he yelled to the two holding Fi.

Ghirahim looked over his shoulder, seeing the two running away, carrying Fi with them. He turned around swiftly, setting off in pursuit.

He had almost reached them, his sword already darting out at the two men. But then, suddenly, an arrow hit him, piercing through the back of his knee. With a scream, he sunk to the ground.

He tried to raise again, but it hurt too much and he couldn't move his wounded leg. "Fi!" he screamed in pain as he saw her disappearing out of sight. "Fi!" He fell to the ground once more.

The one who had shot the arrow, didn't turn up beside him, didn't show himself anymore. He just let the demon lay there, pinned to the ground.

...

In the early evening, Ghirahim sat in front of the campfire he had made beside his house. Tears stung in his eyes. It wasn't because of the pain in his leg, but because of the pain of being alone, of being alone without Fi around him. It was the first time he was alone when it was dark. He cried. He missed Fi, his friend, his love... She was gone. She was hurt. She was alone...

Who had done this? Demons who sought revenge? It could've been the demons who used to pester him back when he lived in demon town. They had their faces hidden. It could also have been humans, but why would those hurt Fi? Why would those kidnap her?

He couldn't stay here any longer. He had to find her. He arose and tried to walk, which was difficult with one knee being wounded, but he managed to walk away from the house, straight through the forest. It hurt very much, but he kept going. He had to, for Fi. He had to find her, rescue her.

...

It was past midnight when Ghirahim arrived at the demon town. It was dark, so he couldn't see much. There was on odd smell surrounding the town. It smelt like fire, ashes, or something similar.

He entered through one of the open gates. That wasn't normal, open gates. They should've been long closed. He limped through the first street. His house wasn't that far from here. He felt the urge to visit his parents. He had missed them, that for sure. And now would be the perfect time to pay them a visit. No one else would spot him. And most of all, the markings under his eyes had almost faded, so with the darkness surrounding them, they wouldn't notice.

He passed a few streets, which he all recognized and all brought back bad memories. He still hated demons, that hadn't changed. Maybe a bit less, since a lot of time had passed since he had fled, but still, he could feel the hatred burning in his veins.

He had taken his sword with him, just in case he'd be attacked, but this also brought up the sick idea in his mind to search Thorin and the others and finish them off. They just _had_ to be punished, they just _had_ to.

He finally reached his house. The streets had been remarkably calm. Normally, even at night, demons were crossing the streets. There even were some of them who were _only_active at night. It was odd there wasn't even _one_ of them now.

Ghirahim hesitated a few moments before entering his house. Maybe visiting his parents wasn't the right thing to do. That wasn't the reason why he had come up here. He looked at the stone carving on the ground, welcoming visitors. And then he noticed something that was total out of place. Dark stains covered half of the sign.

He looked around the street, and as if it had just appeared there, he now noticed more stains and even _pools_ of this liquid spread across the street. Was that... blood? He felt fear creeping up his back.

Without hesitating any longer, he opened the door, not even knocking before entering. It was dark inside. "Mum? Dad?" he asked. Then he heard a soft noise.

"Help..."

Quickly he turned the lights on, no longer waiting for them to give a sign. The lamp fuelled with magic flickered before it remained lit.

Immediately Ghirahim spotted his mum and dad, both lying on the floor, surrounded by a pool of red. He gasped at the sight of his parents. Were they dead? He walked over to his dad. He didn't move anymore.

Ghirahim felt his sadness return. He knelt down to take his dad's pulse. Nothing. No heartbeat. Tears fell down his face. The body was still slightly warm, which meant he wasn't dead for long. Ghirahim felt guilty, so very guilty. If he had been here earlier, they would still be alive...

"Help..." he heard again.

He turned his head to see his mother. She moved! He jumped up and ran towards her. He fell because his wounded knee couldn't handle his sudden movement. But nothing could stop him and he crawled closer to his heavily injured mother.

"Mum!" he exclaimed as he grabbed her hand. She slowly turned her head, watching him.

"Ghirahim?" she asked, her voice very weak, "Is that you love?"

He nodded, "It's me, mum! I'm back!"

She just stared at him, smiling. But soon, her staring eyes didn't move anymore. Ghirahim felt her hand sliding down. All strength had left her body.

"No! Mum!"

He collapsed as he realized she had passed away as well. He fell down on her dead body, face first. He cried. It was all his fault. If he hadn't left them... It all became too much for him to handle. First Fi, now his parents.

He lay down in the pool of blood, crying, and maybe even wishing he was dead.

...

After some time, when thoughts of Fi, who was still alive and waiting for him to rescue her, crossed his mind, he found the strength to stop his crying. Slowly, he raised, one last time watching his parents. Then he left.

He walked through the empty streets. On his way to the centre of town, he saw dead bodies lying on the streets. Bodies of innocent demons, who couldn't fight, as well as bodies of soldiers, still holding their weapons. There had been an attack. He saw some demons, still alive, trying to fight their death, but he ignored them. They deserved to die. They _all_ deserved to die.

When he had reached the market place, he noticed the other side of town had been burnt down completely, only ashes remaining.

Demon society was dead. He smiled. Perfect, just _perfect_.

He looked up at the moon. Still, he felt so much pain. He knew not all demons were dead, but mostly, he knew the murderers of his parents weren't dead. The kidnappers of Fi weren't dead. And they had to die as well. It were humans. Those filthy humans, who were responsible for all this suffering.

Ghirahim tried to suppress his sadness, but that only worked when he converted it into anger, hatred. He felt such an amount of hatred now, such an amount that it would never be fully gone again.

He growled, clenching his sword tightly as he cursed humans, cursed demons and every other being that inhabited this cruel world.

While he was looking at the moon, he saw something descending from the sky. No, he must've imagined that. A black spot passed his sight and grew bigger as it neared. Ghirahim blinked to make sure he wasn't imagining this.

The shadow had the shape of a heart, two pins on its top and four pins at each side. Flashing red eyes looked down on him as the thing came to a halt and floated in front of him.

Ghirahim stared at it. It was beautiful, wonderful, even though he couldn't see anything but a silhouette of this heart-like object. Slowly he reached out to it.

It descended further, coming within reach. The demon felt his fingertips touching the object. It was hard, and it felt to be made of wood.

His other hand reached out to it as well. He grabbed it and pulled it closer. The flashing red disappeared as it lay in his hands.

He looked at it closer. It was a mask, such a beautiful mask. Two big round orange eyes stared lifeless at him, almost hypnotizing it was. Ghirahim stared into them, the many different colours of the mask blending together as he heard a voice speak in his mind.

...

_They say that the Mask from beyond the moon is one of destruction. It inhabits an evil spirit that longs for death. Said Mask is called Majora. It takes control of the one who wears It, taking over the wearer's mind and causing him to carry out Its evil wishes. It's motive is unclear. They say said Mask longs for destruction, for death, without any particular reason. They say It will act in name of it's wearer, following his motives for destruction. They say all It wants to do is 'play'. It wants to play an endless game of destruction. None have ever been able to fight this Mask. None have ever been able to find It's true goal. They say It appears only once a hundred years, searching a new victim to play with. They say this Mask comes from another world, a world inhabited by only this Mask itself, as It does not tolerate others living without destruction. They say that when It descends from beyond the moon, an eon of devastation will follow. They say every time It descends, one part of the world is ruined. They say it is a god. They say it in invincible. They say so much. But what they say, is it true?_

_..._

_"I will help you_..._"_ Ghirahim heard echoing in his head. He blinked. Who was it talking to him?

_"We will bring destruction. We will bring death. We will destroy those who deserve it..."_

"Who are you?" the demon asked.

"Do not question me,"

the voice replied, _"As I am more powerful than any other being existing. I will grant you power. I will grant your wishes of destruction..."_

Ghirahim stared at the mask, "You will help me? Why? What makes you want that? Of what use can _I _possibly be to you?"

_"Do not question me, Ghirahim. Put me on. Let me lead you to victory."_

Ghirahim felt the urge to listen to whoever was talking to him and put the mask on. Slowly, he turned the object, moving it closer to his face. If this mysterious person truly was going to help him, it would be a gift of the gods.

He placed it on his face. It didn't fall back when he removed his hands, just as if it was meant to be there.

_"Good..."_ the hypnotizing voice spoke, _"We will head to the city of humans, bringing destruction and death to anyone who crosses our path..."_

Ghirahim looked around, inspecting the empty market place. It felt so comforting, wearing this mask. It was as if it took away all of his pain, as if it turned his hatred into a good feeling...

"Move on..."

He walked away, back through the streets he had passed earlier. He soon noticed a demon, stretching his hand out to him, begging for help. Ghirahim smirked behind his mask as he approached this demon. He hadn't seen him before, or he didn't recognize him after all this time, but what did it matter? It was a demon, and so he deserved to die.

He halted in front of the wounded demon. "Help me..." he whispered.

Ghirahim knelt down, "I will," he whispered in his most loving voice, "I _most_ certainly will..." He looked in the demons pleading eyes. Such a lovely sight... Slowly he moved the tip of his sword up to the demon's throat.

"I will gladly help you... On your way to death!"

With those words, he pushed the sword forward, piercing through the demon's throat. The helpless being widened his eyes, but soon died.

Ghirahim watched the demon die and smirked, "What a lovely ending, don't you think?" he asked, though he was aware the one he was talking to was no longer able to reply. "Now that's exactly what you deserve... What all of you worthless demons deserve..."

He arose and turned his back to the dead body. Any other demon that lay on his way would receive the same punishment. Although it wasn't a real punishment, as their life was ended quickly, even quicker than when Ghirahim did nothing. But it was just humiliating, being killed by one of the same race, one who they didn't expect to be their enemy, their _worst_ enemy even...

He continued walking, heading for the gates. And not only demons would be dead when they crossed his path, _anyone_ would be dead, _anyone_ who would just dare to even look him in the eye.


	4. Chapter 4

Night had passed when Ghirahim arrived close to the human city. He could see it from afar, but going there now, during day, would not be the right thing to do. He watched as the gates were opened.

_"Go..."_ the voice in his head spoke, _"Go and bring destruction..."_

"But..." Ghirahim hesitated, "It is day. They will notice me. I am demon. The moment I enter there, I will be surrounded by soldiers..."

_"Trust, Ghirahim. Trust is what you need. Trust in my power... You are invincible."_

He tilted his head upwards, thinking about it. "Can you ensure me that I won't fail?"

"I can. You will never fail as long as I am by your side, as long as my power houses in you... Go. Enter the city..."

Ghirahim nodded, walking from his hiding place in the edge of the woods. He approached the city, weapon not even drawn.

He arrived at the gates, where two soldiers halted him. "Who are you?" one asked, "Reveal your face."

"My face..."

the voice that usually spoke in his head now spoke aloud, _"This is my face. I am Majora. I am destruction."_

With those words, Ghirahim charged forwards, sword drawn, and quickly ended the soldier's lives. _"More... We need more..."_

Ghirahim walked through the gates. People were everywhere. Most of them just ignored him, only a few looked at him with a suspicious face, but they didn't seem to be afraid. They didn't expect anyone evil to enter through their _oh so well guarded_gates. Ghirahim smirked. This was so easy.

_"Do something. Don't just walk around... We're not here to watch these humans alive, we're here to watch them die. Go and play. Make it a game of life or death..."_

Ghirahim drew his already bloodstained weapon. Now people started avoiding him. But avoiding wouldn't help.

He walked up to a woman to walk alongside her. "Hello..." he said. She looked at him for a very short moment, and started walking faster, trying to get rid of him. But Ghirahim as well quickened his pace. She took a turn left, entering a smaller back alley. Completely empty, it was. Such a bad decision.

Ghirahim followed her. She started to run, but the demon soon caught up with her, blocking her way.

"What do you want?" she asked in fear, "Just let me pass!"

Ghirahim just smirked, but she wouldn't see it. That was the only disadvantage of wearing this mask, people couldn't see his face when he wanted them to.

_"Make it long..."_ the mask whispered in his head, _"Make it fun..."_

"I just wanted to meet you in a place like this," Ghirahim said. "What for? What are you going to do?" she asked, her voice trembling with fear. "I just want to have some fun..." He roughly grabbed her arm and threw her to the wall. When her back hit it, he heard a loud crack and she screamed. Had he broken something? He hadn't thought of throwing her _that_ hard. Maybe the mask had made him stronger...

He held her arm tightly as her stabbed her in the stomach. He turned the sword around, opening the wound further, only causing her to scream and cry so hard that it hurt his ears. But it sounded nice, he had to admit that. It sounded so pleasing...

He stabbed again and again, until she was dead. Constantly he had been looking her in the eye. He could see through this mask, but others couldn't see _his_ eyes. From the inside, it was invisible.

_"Didn't that feel good? Didn't that feel just perfect?"_

"Better than anything..."

Ghirahim left the back alley, now walking through a more crowded street, his clothes covered in blood. People backed away when seeing him, and soon he saw soldiers running towards him.

"Watch out!" they shouted to the people surrounding Ghirahim, "Alarm! Murderer alarm!"

Ghirahim turned around to see them. He smirked and before all the people close to him could flee, he started lashing out at the nearest humans, sending them to death.

_"More... Bring destruction..."_

Ghirahim shot forward, into the crowd, randomly slashing around with his weapon and taking the lives of many innocent people.

He thought he felt someone stabbing him in the back, but it nearly hurt. He looked over his shoulder, seeing someone draw back his sword that was covered in blood, _his_ blood. He could see his back was bleeding profusely, but it didn't hurt. Why didn't it hurt? Of course. The mask.

Ghirahim growled as he attacked the soldier who had stabbed him. He would bring destruction. Destruction to all the humans who inhabited this ugly city. These humans who were responsible for the death of his parents. Nothing would stop him now, nothing at all... This city would fall, crumble, and all of that only by his hand.

The chaos running through the city was immense. People ran away in all directions, anywhere would do, as long as they were away from the bloodthirsty demon.

When the street main street was completely empty, except for Ghirahim and the many dead bodies, the demon decided to enter a house. Murdering all of them one by one by hand was too time consuming. He had to take more drastic measures.

The house was abandoned. The inhabitants had probably fled when they heard the alarm, or they had ended up on the end of Ghirahim's sword.

The demon inspected the house, looking for one particular thing. And soon he found it, one lit candle. It might've been small, any fire would do. He left the house, taking the candle with him, and once he was outside, he turned around to set the wooden door on fire. The fire flared up and soon spread across the house, quickly passing over to the neighbouring houses.

It would've been better if he could set the ramparts on fire as well, then the people would've been trapped inside a cage of fire... Now they still could flee out of the city, all too easy...

_"Take the fire..."_

"But how? Won't I burn my fingers? And how am I going to _carry_ fire?"

"Have you still not learned, Ghirahim? When I am involved,

anything_ will work. Just touch the fire. Walk into it. You will serve as a torch..."_

Ghirahim stretched his hand out to touch the fire. It felt warm, but didn't hurt. When he pulled his hand away, the fire still rested on his hand. He then moved himself against the stone wall of the house, being surrounded by the fire completely. Then he ran away.

Not even the blazing wind that tried to block him when he ran through the city could extinguish the fire. He ran, faster than he had ever done, and it didn't even tire him one bit. He loved this mask...

Sooner than expected, he reached the ramparts.

"Jump onto the wall..."

He did as the mask told him. He jumped, high, very high. In only one jump, he landed on the ramparts. He didn't have to do anything before the wall set on fire. It was stone, and still... It probably was some kind of magic the mask had put into the fire. The same magic that made the fire spread so incredibly quickly. It were only mere seconds before the fire had rounded the whole wall, encircling the people and trapping them inside a cage of fire.

Ghirahim, still on fire, stood and watched as people started fleeing back to the centre. They thought of fire being more terrifying than him? That had to change.

He jumped off the ramparts and ran back through streets, leaving a path of fire where he had passed.

When the first humans came in sight, he decided not to kill them yet. He jumped onto the roof of one of the nearest houses. It set on fire. This was so much fun, spreading fire this easy... He let out a sinister laugh that certainly wasn't his own. But he didn't care. It felt like he had fused with the mask, like they had become one.

He watched the people flee towards the central place. They all gathered there. When it came to making decisions, it seemed they always chose the wrong thing. The wrong thing for themselves. For Ghirahim it was all good they chose this way.

He waited till all of them were united. One of them, who certainly must've been their leader, climbed onto a statue in the middle of the place.

"My people!" he shouted, so hard that even Ghirahim could clearly hear him. "You don't have to fear! As there is an escape route out of the city!" People started cheering. "Follow the soldiers over there," he said, pointing to a road on the opposite side of where Ghirahim was, "They will lead you there!"

_"Don't let them escape..."_

"_Never_ they will get away..."

Ghirahim jumped from roof to roof, spreading the fire rapidly. It was odd the people didn't notice him. Fire spreading like this wasn't natural. But they were stupid creatures, even worse than the worst of demons.

It took him only about a minute to reach the street people now started entering.

"You will not get away..." Ghirahim said and he jumped down the roof, landing right in front of the soldiers who were leading the flow of escaping people.

One of them ran into him, immediately catching fire. He screamed in pain and horror as he also spread the fire, touching his fellow soldiers and setting them on fire. Ghirahim just had to stand and watch. It was _too_ easy.

Soon there had formed a wall of fire, a wall of _people_ on fire. Ghirahim jumped, jumping over the fire barrier and landing in the panicking crowd of people. He ran around, spreading the fire and purposefully bumping into as many humans as possible. The fire spread quickly. They were too close to each other to escape it.

Ghirahim laughed as he crossed the central place, people unable to stop him. Most of them didn't even have time to realize it was _him_ who was causing this. But what creature would stay alive when on fire?

The mask laughed as well, using his mouth to produce it. Again he let out a most sinister laugh. "I am Majora!" he shouted, his voice sounding very different from his own, "I am destruction!"

He kept shouting the same phrase as the market place, together will all the people, was consumed by fire.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Fi stared in the darkness. She heard so many screams... She knew she was in her hometown, but this place, she had never seen before.

She was being held captive in a cellar deep under the ground. It was the cellar of one of the soldiers' houses. One of those soldiers who had taken her, hurt her...

As the screams grew louder and louder, and the sound of walls crumbling started to fill the empty space around her, she wished to be away of here. She wished for Ghirahim to come and take her... Where could he possibly be? Had he survived the attack? She hoped he hadn't come here now that there was an attack going on outside.

It seemed this was a serious attack, one that would be hard to win. It would take only few time for the invading monsters to find this cellar and kill her. The house she was being held captive in was located at the side of the city. It was one of the houses that would fall first. Maybe it wasn't all that bad then that she was locked up in a cellar. If the monsters would burn the city down, they was very few chance she would be hurt.

She closed her eyes. Being alone was the worst. Being alone and unsure about whether her only friend was still alive or not.

...

Hours had passed, maybe even a day, Fi couldn't tell for sure as she had no clue of what time it was. Everything had gone silent.

The attack was over. They had lost. She knew that. She could feel it...

She arose. The soldiers hadn't tied her up, so she could walk freely. But before she hadn't found the courage to do so, as they could enter any moment and she was afraid to be hurt again. They liked that, hurting women, even though those women were part of their own city.

She walked up the barely lit stairs to a source of light. It was a door, that much was clear, but there hadn't been so much light before. And it was difficult for her to open, as it was a horizontal door, that normally was opened only from the outside. She pushed against it, and to her surprise, it was opened easily.

Bright light blinded her eyes. It was sunlight. The house had been burnt down... She climbed out of the cellar, to stand on a large and open space. She could see leftovers of what once used to be houses. As far as she could see, in the direction of the city centre, she could only see ashes...

She turned around to run away. It felt uncomfortable, knowing she had once live here and she could've been burnt as well. She thanked the soldiers who had locked her up in such a fire proof cellar. They were dead now, most likely. It was their duty to protect the city to the end. Others would have fled, the other inhabitants.

She headed for the woods, dying to see Ghirahim again. She had missed him and she wanted to make sure he was still alive.

When she arrived at the edge of the woods, she spotted a lone little boy hiding behind a bush. He tried to run away when she approached him.

"Wait!" she yelled, "Come back! I want to help you!"

He halted and turned around. When he saw she was only a human girl and not a monster, he slowly walked upon her.

Fi knelt down in front of him to be at the same height. "What happened?" she asked. The boy shook his head as he began telling her about the rampage that had taken place. He had seen the monster responsible for this from close by. He gave her a description.

Fi's eyes widened as she listened to the description. She knew who he was talking about, but that couldn't be possible... He would never do such a thing. He would never hurt innocent people like that...

"Are you sure?" she asked, "You haven't seen that person here in the woods, but there in town?"

"Absolutely sure," the boy said, "But he wore a mask... A terrifying mask..."

"A mask? What kind of mask?"

"A purple mask in the shape of a heart, but it looked dangerous as it had those sharp pins sticking out at the sides. And it had those red eyes, those _huge_ glowing red eyes..."

Fi swallowed as she realized what mask he was talking about. It was Majora, the Mask from beyond the moon, the Mask of destruction. She had learned about It in mythology class and she had always found it an interesting story. But she had never thought of It to be real, let alone It to come down here, picking _her_ best friend as It's victim...

She felt the tears in her eyes as she arose. She knew it was over for Ghirahim. She knew he would never be the same again, never be _her_ Ghirahim again...

Fi walked away, leaving the little boy alone. This was just too much for her to deal with. Why? Why did it always have to end bad for her?

She fell to her knees on the open field, crying and begging the goddess for an explanation, which she, of course, didn't receive.

She wanted to be dead now, to no longer exist in this horrible world... What was the sense of life anyway if you only had to suffer?

Her face hit the ground and she started to cry loudly. Why couldn't she just disappear? What had she done wrong to be tormented like this?


	5. Chapter 5

Ghirahim sat on a high tower, watching yet another town burning to ashes. He didn't want to do a lot more than just watch this time. He was tired. He hadn't eaten in weeks, ever since he had given in to the Mask, but he didn't need food. He didn't need anything, not even sleep or water. The Mask looked after him, made him truly invincible, just as It had told him. It had made his injuries magically disappear. He loved this Mask, Majora, he _worshipped_ It.

_"Go into town, bring more destruction..."_

He sighed. He wasn't up to doing much today. But if the Mask told him to...

_"You're still wanting to obey me, aren't you?" _

"Of course," Ghirahim said, half hypnotized by the voice of the Mask, "I will follow you anywhere... Take my soul and lead me then... I will follow you till the end... Lead me into darkness..."

_"Into darkness we will go... Into darkness of destruction... Into darkness of death..."_

_They say the Mask from beyond the moon is one that steals your soul. They say It corrupts the one It collaborates with. They say It takes over your mind. They say that once you have given in to It, there's nothing left to save of you. They say when It leaves to return to Its world beyond the moon, It leaves an all destroying power in you... They say the one who has worn it will turn into a monster, longing for destruction himself, but weak and bound to fall..._

Many more towns and cities followed, both cities of humans and demons. Majora and Ghirahim were an unstoppable team, or rather, an unstoppable _master and puppet_. Not even one town or city was safe for them. They spread a wave of destruction and death over the land...

...

But of course, Ghirahim's actions didn't go unnoticed. There was a demon who called himself the _king_ of demons and who was worshipped by his followers like a god. His name was Demise.

Demise was a demon who liked war, liked the destruction of the humans, but never had he seen a creature that longed so much for destruction that it would fight _both_ humans_and_ demons. He wanted this creature. He wanted it to be on his side, wanted to make it his weapon.

He had first heard of this masked demon when one of his underlings had brought the message that his town had burnt down. Demise didn't believe it at first, as the town the demon was from was one of the strongest and most guarded demon towns. He had killed the messenger for telling him false information.

Later had he heard it was confirmed to be true. This masked demon did exist and he had burnt down many towns and cities. That was when Demise had decided to meet this demon in person.

He left the throne room of his castle, telling his substitute to keep everything in order while he was away.

He left his castle, making sure it was well guarded against a possible attack of this demon he was going to look for.

He left the large city surrounding his castle, and finally, he could go. He didn't know where to find this demon, but he would find him for sure. When he saw a city burning down, he knew that was the place he to go and look.

...

It was night when Demise noticed a light at the horizon, quite far away from where he was. He used teleportation magic to transport himself over there. It was a town. On fire.

He smirked as he walked through the fallen gates. He was a powerful demon, more powerful than all his underlings together, and so he could easily enter the fire without being damaged.

It was a human city. People ran around in panic, screaming when they were on fire or when then saw other inhabitants die before their very eyes. Demise found it a rather pleasing sight.

He strode through the burning streets, looking for the one responsible for all this misery. When he came on a path that wasn't on fire yet, and where the people still were trying to get away, he drew his sword. He had to draw this demon's attention.

He walked up to a small group of humans. They noticed him, and since he had walked out of the fire, they probably thought _he_ was the one behind this. It didn't matter. Demise lunged forward, his sword piercing through the human's bodies.

He laughed demoniacally as they one by one fell before his feet. Not one could or even_dared_ defend himself against Demise's sword.

... ... ... ... ...

Ghirahim sat on top of one of the burning roofs. It was such a calming sight. He loved doing this, watching silently while everyone around him was dying.

The flames flashed around him, through him even, but the Mask, ever protecting him, made it feel rather nice. He sat there, staring into the all destroying fire, watching people run for their life, being swallowed by the flames...

And then he noticed, something was out of place. He noticed dead bodies where the fire hadn't been yet. What kind of thing was interfering with his plans?

He jumped down the roof, landing in an already burnt down street, and walked over the place where the dead bodies lay.

Someone had attacked them with a sword... Were humans truly _so_ desperate when they were surrounded by fire that they started murdering one another? He sighed and shook his head. Apparently they were.

But that also meant there was one being that wanted to fight. Interesting... He might want to challenge him then... Ghirahim quickly followed the path of dead bodies. He had to go through fire now. Then this human was probably dead. But he kept following it anyway. There still were dead bodies to follow.

Then he noticed one man. One man who slaughtered a group of people. Good. Ghirahim jumped onto the closest roof, to walk on it and jump down into the crowd of people. He'd like to face that one man now...

... ... ... ... ...

Demise made his way through a crowd of people. It had been quite a long time since he last had shed human blood. It felt good after such a time...

One by one, all of his defenceless opponents were sent to death. His sword made a way through the crowd, until he felt resistance. His sword was blocked. People in front of him screamed and were suddenly set on fire. And that was the moment when he saw_it_.

He saw the Mask, surrounded by fire, It's eyes glowing red. He had heard about It before. _Majora_.

He looked It in the eye, unable to move. This could be his death, he knew.

"Who are you?" he heard. It was a rather normal voice. It must've been the demon behind the Mask who spoke and not the Mask Itself.

"I am Demise, demon king," he replied calmly.

The one in front of him tilted his head, "And what business do you have here, Demise? Why are you interfering with _my_ plans?"

Demise didn't know what to reply. He didn't want to anger this person. "I've come to look for you," he said. "Look for me?" the voice said, almost echoing.

"I knew you are powerful, I knew you are a demon. I want you to fight by my side."

"By your side? Do you honestly think someone like _me_ would fight by one's side?"

Demise felt his irritation growing, "I can bring you to more cities," he said, "More human cities."

"As a king, you'll probably have an empire... I will join you against the humans... But there is one condition..."

"And that is?" __

"Make me demon king and let me bring destruction over your land..." The voice now sounded entirely different.

Demise stared at the unknown person, shocked, "I can't do that!" he said, feeling deeply insulted that this person had such a request.

_"I can also destroy you here and now and conquer your fallen empire without your permission... I don't think you have much of a choice..."_

Demise felt anger boiling inside him. He cursed himself for coming here and thinking he could convince such a twisted person.

_"What do you think? We will help you... We will destroy every human existing... Isn't that what you truly want? Don't you prefer that over living and keeping control over that vile society of demons? Take our offer... You won't regret it... Make me demon king... Let me destroy that pathetic little demon empire of yours... Let me free you..."_

Demise felt that this person was right. He felt this was what he wanted. This demon was right. He didn't want to rule over a useless bunch of demons. He wanted to fight the humans. On his own. He wanted to bring disaster...

"I will make you demon king," he said, not believing he could speak such words, "You have my permission to take my empire and do with it whatever you want."

_"You've decided wisely, Demise. With us on your side, you will never fall..."_

...

Majora and Ghirahim kept their word and soon Demise's demon empire had been razed to the ground. The last flames died away and only ashes remained of what once was a flowering demon society.

Ghirahim laughed as he stood alongside Demise, watching the destruction. "Now we can go and destroy those human cities," he said.

Demise remained silent. He felt sad as he saw and realized that his empire was gone, that he no longer was the demon king, and that if he even was, he'd rule over nothing but ashes.

He felt angry, extremely angry. But he knew there was no way back. He knew this was all too real. He knew he would have to serve that bloody Mask and It's puppet demon now, and maybe forever.

"You said you could bring me to more human cities..." the demon said.

Demise turned his head to him, looking bored. "I don't see the point of that," he said.

The masked demon turned to watch him, "You don't?" he asked.

"I've fulfilled my part. You've got what you wanted. You're the king now, the king of a dead empire. What more do you want?"

He only laughed at Demise's words, "Do you realize that it's only in your own disadvantage when you refuse to fight by my side? Do you think it matters to me? I don't need a _worthless_ creature like you. But think about it, what will you do if you refuse my offer? Where will you go? Don't you realize, you've got nowhere to go."

Demise growled, and it was then his anger reached a point where he could no longer control it. His fist shot forward and he landed a blow in the demon's stomach. He was smart enough not to hit him in the face, as he didn't want to involve the Mask. It was the best to not anger that object.

The demon screamed and he immediately attacked back. Demise grabbed his opponent's arm. He was lucky that he had not drawn his sword. Fighting by hand was in his advantage.

He knocked the demon over, sending him to the ground. Brute force was his strong side, and this demon he was fighting could not overpower him that way.

He kicked him hard in the stomach, causing him to roll on the ground in agony. Demise smirked. So _weak_ he was when the Mask didn't help him. He certainly had to ask his title back now.

Quickly he drew his sword to push it against his throat. He could not let him rise again before he had what he wanted.

Ghirahim hissed as the Demise's sword was placed against his throat. Why didn't the Mask help him now?

_"Don't you think yourself so high..." _It said in his head, _"Don't you think you're more powerful than me... Without me you're worthless... Remember that. You're my puppet. My toy. It is _me_ who decides what will be done... I can leave you any moment... Let this be a warning..."_

Ghirahim growled. It now was the first time he realized the Mask had only used him. It was all true what It had said. He was nothing more than a puppet, a toy, to It. It could dispose itself of him any moment It wanted...

"Give me back my title," Demise said.

Ghirahim growled. As long as the Mask didn't help him, he could do nothing but listen to Demise and do as he said. He had no choice. Both the Mask _and_ Demise had full control over him.

"My King, I will serve you," he said.

Demise's eyes widened. Ghirahim knew this was the best to do. If not the _only_ thing he_could_ do. It was the best for him if the Mask left him right now. No matter how much he adores the Mask, It only used him, and it was for his own well-being he had to split from it. And when the Mask was gone, Demise would kill him if he didn't obey him...

"You've heard me well, demon king," Ghirahim said, "I will serve you. I will do as you say. I am your servant..."

Demise pulled away the sword. Ghirahim arose. He could feel the Mask sliding away from his face. Time had come for It to leave, to return where ever It had come from, to find another victim.

He took the Mask off, only for It to disappear fully. Ghirahim stared at his empty hand. It felt as if a part of him had gone away. But he didn't feel sad. The Mask had left Its mark on him. It had made him stronger. He wouldn't cry anymore, whatever happened to him. He was tired of being sad...

He bowed deeply for Demise, "Will you accept me as your servant, _master_?" he asked.

Demise looked down on him, speechless. He certainly wanted this powerful demon to serve him, even though he wasn't _that_ powerful anymore without the Mask, but still... He needed someone, someone to fight on his side, to help him destroy the humans once and for all.

"I accept you, demon. What is your name?"

"Ghirahim," the demon replied as he arose, "I will serve you to eternity," he said, bowing once more.

"Good... Then I will bind you to me. You'll be my weapon. My sword. Allow me to perform a little ritual."

Demise drew his crenated black sword and stabbed Ghirahim in the chest. The demon panicked at this sudden action, but it didn't hurt. On the contrary, it felt good, so very good...

"You're mine now..." Demise said.

"I'm yours..." Ghirahim repeated, smirking.

The demon king pulled back his sword, leaving a broken diamond crest on the younger demon's chest.

"You might not have known before, Ghirahim, but I have powers that can be compared to those of a god. I might not be as powerful as the Mask, still, there will be very few creatures down here on earth who will be able to overpower me."

"I hope I can be of use to you, master." "You are my sword, Ghirahim. I've connected you to it. In fact, my sword and you now are one and the same being, or thing, however you want to look at it. You're my weapon, and a weapon cannot disobey it's master. You're bound to me to eternity..."

After those words, he pointed his sword at Ghirahim. The demon disappeared into diamonds fragments and was absorbed into the sword.

"We will bring destruction," Demise said as he took a closer look at his sword. It sure felt more powerful, now that a spirit inhabited it. "We will ruin every life of every human here down on earth. And there will be no one to put a stop to us..."

... ... ... ... ...

Fi looked up at the blackening sky. It looked as if a star was descending from up above the clouds. She must've imagined it. It must've been the sorrow taking its toll. She was going insane...

The light descended to a level where it was clearly visible. It seemed to be truly there. Still, Fi didn't trust her own eyes anymore...

"Fi..." she heard a female voice saying. She didn't respond as she still thought it was only an illusion.

"Fi, this is real," the voice said, seemingly reading her mind, "You might not believe it, but I am the Goddess."

Fi looked up to the light orb that floated in front of her. "Hylia?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes, Fi... I have come to free you from your suffering. Your mortal life will end here and you will be reborn as my immortal servant."

Fi now looked at the orb with fear in her eyes. She didn't want to die. Even though life was so miserable, her instinct to stay alive refused to let this happen. "I don't want it!" she said, "I don't want to die..."

"But life will be better, Fi, trust me. You will no longer be able to endure any psychological pain. And you can help me, the Goddess of your people. I need someone to inhabit a sword. A sword for the hero that will rise to fight the evil in the world. You will play a role in a great destiny. I need someone as smart as you."

Fi sighed. She couldn't possibly refuse the Goddess' request... And what was life without Ghirahim anyway?

"I will help you..." she said, tears filling her eyes. It now was over. She could only hope Ghirahim wouldn't miss her...

"He won't," the Goddess said, once more reading her mind, "He has been corrupted by the Mask Majora... He won't miss you. He won't feel anything anymore, except for an endless urge for destruction..."

Fi closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears. This wasn't the future as she had imagined it. Not at all.

"Are you ready to come with me?" Hylia asked.

Fi nodded slightly. She had waited for this moment for hours, and now that it finally was there, she hesitated... But no longer. She touched the orb of light and soon the world around her disappeared.

..._..._..._..._..._..._..._...

Fi watched as Demise fell to his knees, defeated by her master. She could feel how Link felt happy, relieved, that it was finally over. But her own feelings were mixed. She was more than glad Demise was dead, or at least sealed away for an eternity, but his sword... She had recognized it's the first time Link had met him. She couldn't exactly remember where from, but she was positive she had seen him before. And seeing him gave her a feeling of sadness. A feeling of something that hadn't been fulfilled.

The Goddess Hylia had erased her memory, though Fi knew she had once been a human. She knew she had had another life before she had become the spirit of the Master Sword. But memories of that life had been erased, driven to the back of her mind to be forgotten. Only when she was confronted directly with something of the past, her memories would return, or at least the knowledge that those memories were there. She couldn't remember what had happened exactly...

The sword in Demise's hand vanished. Fi felt a sudden stinging sadness. It was gone. But maybe that was better. Maybe the unexplainable feeling would leave her now. Soon after his sword had disappeared, Demise fell as well, his spirit being absorbed into the Master Sword.

The sword had to be sealed now. Fi would go into an endless sleep. A sleep in which she returned to the World of Sword Spirits. Aw world where only the spirits inhabiting swords could live in. There she had to wait until the seal of the sword broke and she had to find another master to deafeat Demise's reincarnation.

Maybe she would meet him there, the spirit of the other sword, the sworn enemy of her master Link, demon lord Ghirahim. He was a sword spirit as well, and to her, his disappearance didn't seem like death. He would go to that world too. And there they would meet. Meet again...


End file.
